I contacted most major health insurers to ask whether a person who had donated a kidney or partial liver would be regarded as having a preexisting condition and thus subject to higher rates or denial of coverage.
Not one responded with a definitive answer.
"We would have to look at the specific facts before making a decision," said Ashley Wilkerson, a spokeswoman for Blue Shield of California.
A spokeswoman for Anthem Blue Cross advised me to put the question to the California Assn. of Health Plans, an industry group.
A spokeswoman for the association told me instead to put the question to Anthem and other individual insurers.
The only major insurer that agreed to discuss the matter in some detail was Kaiser Permanente, although its basic position was no different from its more reticent kin.
"Something like this is viewed like any other complicated surgery," said Jim Anderson, a spokesman for the healthcare provider. "It would be on a case-by-case basis."
He added: "Looking for black-and-white answers to complicated medical questions is a difficult thing to do."
Not that difficult, actually. A considerable body of data exists for the well-being of kidney and liver donors after the transplants are completed. In most cases, the donor goes on to live a normal and healthy life.
"I'm perfectly fine," said Kevin Monroe, a Lakewood resident who donated a kidney to his brother in 1998. "I do everything now that I did before."
He said he's been fortunate to remain covered by his employer, the oil company ConocoPhillips. But Monroe, 56, said he's concerned about what would happen if he had to seek insurance elsewhere and had to report that he donated a kidney to a loved one. "Even though I'm perfectly healthy, it could be a problem," he said.
Health insurers are sensitive to being perceived as an obstacle to organ donation. They don't want to be seen as discouraging such selfless and courageous acts.
"We and every other healthcare organization would encourage people to donate organs," said Kaiser's Anderson.
If that's the case, the answer seems obvious: Make it the clear policy of an insurance provider to not penalize organ donors in any way.
In other words, insurers should specify up front for policyholders that donating an organ will in no way affect their rates or access to coverage.
Better yet, they should reward organ donors by offering, say, a 15% discount on premiums for at least five years as an incentive for helping others.
